well i went for undergrad so i wouldnt really know where the law students lived. if you want to get away from undergrads - here is where we all chose to live. look at berkeley on google maps. i would say about 90-95% of everyone i knew (it could be that most people i knew lived near me because that's how i got to know them, but whatever) - in general, most people live in a small box on the south side of campus. So that rectangle bound by Shattuck Ave to College Ave and Bancroft to Parker. So if you want to get away from undergrads and the worst apts of all time, stay away from there. but doode now that i think about it, if you are willing to live a little farther away, there are some good options. we all just wanted to stay close to each other for social reasons. not driving home late at night is nice

leeronalda wrote:well i went for undergrad so i wouldnt really know where the law students lived. if you want to get away from undergrads - here is where we all chose to live. look at berkeley on google maps. i would say about 90-95% of everyone i knew (it could be that most people i knew lived near me because that's how i got to know them, but whatever) - in general, most people live in a small box on the south side of campus. So that rectangle bound by Shattuck Ave to College Ave and Bancroft to Parker. So if you want to get away from undergrads and the worst apts of all time, stay away from there. but doode now that i think about it, if you are willing to live a little farther away, there are some good options. we all just wanted to stay close to each other for social reasons. not driving home late at night is nice

yeah definitely, that makes perfect sense for UG. i'm going to be looking for a bit more quiet and better study environment for law school though I think .

leeronalda wrote:30 minutes away? you have some good options. i would say your best bet is emeryville. it's a nice city but it's like built on some old indian burial ground - Lol. that doesn't really matter but it was always an interesting topic to talk about when we were there. my friend lived there while in school and she paid like nothing for a really nice apt - like good floors, plumbing and stuff (don't take that for granted haha). ANYWHERE NEAR CAMPUS ON THE SOUTH SIDE WILL ROB YOU IF YOU WANT TO RAISE A FAMILY! LOL im not kidding. bad plumbing, bad floors, dangerous neighborhoods, stupid undergraduates. Right north of campus is pretty nice though - really quiet, pretty neighborhood but it can get pricey. don't go too north cause it gets scary up there when you start hitting up around richmond. but i would put my money on emeryville.

Thanks for the tip, Emeryville looks like a winner! I thinking anything less than 2g is not shockingly high and sure enough there are options. Thanks again. Heck if I can sell my house real quick I may just buy one down there while the price is still low, make some "investment" lol

I obviously am nowhere near making a decision, but the idea of back in Cali is growing every hour. As of next week I am putting my convertible away and will start to drive the SUV to work due to ice in the morning... I'd love to simply drive my summer car all year round, it's made for Cali. I can get back to commuting on my motorcycles too...

doode... california all the way man. it was sunny all day today. i walked around in a t-shirt and jeans - in December! not a single cloud in the sky. it was great. too bad i was at work but still. it was great.

leeronalda wrote:doode... california all the way man. it was sunny all day today. i walked around in a t-shirt and jeans - in December! not a single cloud in the sky. it was great. too bad i was at work but still. it was great.

leeronalda wrote:30 minutes away? you have some good options. i would say your best bet is emeryville. it's a nice city but it's like built on some old indian burial ground - Lol. that doesn't really matter but it was always an interesting topic to talk about when we were there. my friend lived there while in school and she paid like nothing for a really nice apt - like good floors, plumbing and stuff (don't take that for granted haha). ANYWHERE NEAR CAMPUS ON THE SOUTH SIDE WILL ROB YOU IF YOU WANT TO RAISE A FAMILY! LOL im not kidding. bad plumbing, bad floors, dangerous neighborhoods, stupid undergraduates. Right north of campus is pretty nice though - really quiet, pretty neighborhood but it can get pricey. don't go too north cause it gets scary up there when you start hitting up around richmond. but i would put my money on emeryville.

Thanks for the tip, Emeryville looks like a winner! I thinking anything less than 2g is not shockingly high and sure enough there are options. Thanks again. Heck if I can sell my house real quick I may just buy one down there while the price is still low, make some "investment" lol

I obviously am nowhere near making a decision, but the idea of back in Cali is growing every hour. As of next week I am putting my convertible away and will start to drive the SUV to work due to ice in the morning... I'd love to simply drive my summer car all year round, it's made for Cali. I can get back to commuting on my motorcycles too...

I'd also look in North Oakland. Temescal is a great neighborhood with a lot of families and it has a better community/better restaurants etc. than Emeryville. There are parts of Richmond that aren't horrible and I know there's a lot of cheap cookie cutter houses for sale up around that area, but it'd be more of a commute. Albany also might not be a bad place to look. Same with North Berkeley near Solano and San Pablo.

leeronalda wrote:30 minutes away? you have some good options. i would say your best bet is emeryville. it's a nice city but it's like built on some old indian burial ground - Lol. that doesn't really matter but it was always an interesting topic to talk about when we were there. my friend lived there while in school and she paid like nothing for a really nice apt - like good floors, plumbing and stuff (don't take that for granted haha). ANYWHERE NEAR CAMPUS ON THE SOUTH SIDE WILL ROB YOU IF YOU WANT TO RAISE A FAMILY! LOL im not kidding. bad plumbing, bad floors, dangerous neighborhoods, stupid undergraduates. Right north of campus is pretty nice though - really quiet, pretty neighborhood but it can get pricey. don't go too north cause it gets scary up there when you start hitting up around richmond. but i would put my money on emeryville.

Thanks for the tip, Emeryville looks like a winner! I thinking anything less than 2g is not shockingly high and sure enough there are options. Thanks again. Heck if I can sell my house real quick I may just buy one down there while the price is still low, make some "investment" lol

I obviously am nowhere near making a decision, but the idea of back in Cali is growing every hour. As of next week I am putting my convertible away and will start to drive the SUV to work due to ice in the morning... I'd love to simply drive my summer car all year round, it's made for Cali. I can get back to commuting on my motorcycles too...

I'd also look in North Oakland. Temescal is a great neighborhood with a lot of families and it has a better community/better restaurants etc. than Emeryville. There are parts of Richmond that aren't horrible and I know there's a lot of cheap cookie cutter houses for sale up around that area, but it'd be more of a commute. Albany also might not be a bad place to look. Same with North Berkeley near Solano and San Pablo.

This. Emeryville is awful. Temescal is much more of an organic and pleasant residential community. Emeryville is half industrial, half stripmall chic.

LOLLL what can i say? Listen to THESE guys. Not me. i was an undergrad there. i don't live there anymore. I was limited to that block that I mentioned earlier and wherever the bus took me - which happened to be emeryville which happened to be million times nicer than where i lived.

But yeah, it would probably be better to listen to these guys. I do have to say though that I loved visiting emeryville and my friends there.

leeronalda wrote:LOLLL what can i say? Listen to THESE guys. Not me. i was an undergrad there. i don't live there anymore. I was limited to that block that I mentioned earlier and wherever the bus took me - which happened to be emeryville which happened to be million times nicer than where i lived.

But yeah, it would probably be better to listen to these guys. I do have to say though that I loved visiting emeryville and my friends there.

I was also an undergrad there, and it's a matter of taste, so he should check out every neighborhood during the ASW.

leeronalda wrote:LOLLL what can i say? Listen to THESE guys. Not me. i was an undergrad there. i don't live there anymore. I was limited to that block that I mentioned earlier and wherever the bus took me - which happened to be emeryville which happened to be million times nicer than where i lived.

But yeah, it would probably be better to listen to these guys. I do have to say though that I loved visiting emeryville and my friends there.

I was also an undergrad there, and it's a matter of taste, so he should check out every neighborhood during the ASW.

leeronalda wrote:Just became under review yesterday. I HOPE I GET IN!~!?$?!#@$@!?$@!$?@!$@!?$@! IM FREAKIN OUT!. lol not really but I REALLY want to get in. i went to berkeley for undergrad lol And the weather is unbeatable. I miss the weather there. and the food. so good. so cheap too. and their cafe's. so awesssomemeeee. cool people. cool city. but rent sucks - i had the worst apt for the worst price.

Good luck!

What's a cheap place to rent a house or large (3-4 br) apartment? I don't mind commuting a little (~30 minutes) as long as rent is acceptable. Good schools would be wonderful (have kids).

Hey - Boalt 1L here (with kids). Check out towns just east of the Caldecott Tunnel: Moraga, Lafayette, Orinda, Walnut Creek (all in Contra Costa County). You get a lot more for your money, the schools are amazing (among top in the state), and the commute is nothing (I have a 13 minute drive each morning). If you want to do public transport, all of these towns are right on the BART line. I know a few other Boalties, mostly OWLS, and quite a few professors who live on this side of the hill.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and tips. We will make sure to drive around and check out all the areas during ASW. We live in a not so great area right now so probably anything is an upgrade. School is the most important issue, since my school district is one of the worst outside of Philadelphia.

I'd pretty much echo what everyone else said, the box south of campus is undergrad-ville with overpriced apartments where dishwashers, working washing machines, parking, garbage disposals are rare. I lived in a place in 2008 that had a pipe burst and it basically started raining in my apartment They had to replace my carpet and the whole apartment smelled like balls for weeks. I tolerated it b/c, hey, I'm in college, I could deal. But I wouldn't want to put up with that if I had a family. I dont think southside is so dangerous, its more so that there’s a bunch of dumb kids. Guess what, if you walk around at night, by yourself, tipsy, while texting on your Iphone...your going to get jacked!

North of campus up the hill a little ways, past the co-ops, is really nice. It is a fairly expensive neighborhood but there are some good deals if you're willing to look. The only real problem is I'm not sure what school district they are in, I assume Berkeley High. Not sure how old your kids are, but I'm not sure you'd want to send them there. The school has great resources but has had a lot of problems recently, especially concerning the access to those resources by affluent (read: white) and non-affluent (read: black) students.

I hope you enjoy your visit! Personally, I think I'd lean toward moving away from Berkeley even though I had a great time, but I'd still love to get a call !

If anyone is looking for a place that gives you more bang for your buck than right by campus and does not mind a commute, it is looking increasingly likely that I will be heading to law school on the east coast and renting out my place. It is 2 bed, 2 bath, 1182 square feet. It is only two blocks from a BART station, although it is a few stops away from Berkeley. I don't want to say the exact city, but you can PM if you want more information. You could have a cat or small dog, and I am willing to rent it out furnished.

sarahh wrote:If anyone is looking for a place that gives you more bang for your buck than right by campus and does not mind a commute, it is looking increasingly likely that I will be heading to law school on the east coast and renting out my place. It is 2 bed, 2 bath, 1182 square feet. It is only two blocks from a BART station, although it is a few stops away from Berkeley. I don't want to say the exact city, but you can PM if you want more information. You could have a cat or small dog, and I am willing to rent it out furnished.

I'd pretty much echo what everyone else said, the box south of campus is undergrad-ville with overpriced apartments where dishwashers, working washing machines, parking, garbage disposals are rare. I lived in a place in 2008 that had a pipe burst and it basically started raining in my apartment They had to replace my carpet and the whole apartment smelled like balls for weeks. I tolerated it b/c, hey, I'm in college, I could deal. But I wouldn't want to put up with that if I had a family. I dont think southside is so dangerous, its more so that there’s a bunch of dumb kids. Guess what, if you walk around at night, by yourself, tipsy, while texting on your Iphone...your going to get jacked!

North of campus up the hill a little ways, past the co-ops, is really nice. It is a fairly expensive neighborhood but there are some good deals if you're willing to look. The only real problem is I'm not sure what school district they are in, I assume Berkeley High. Not sure how old your kids are, but I'm not sure you'd want to send them there. The school has great resources but has had a lot of problems recently, especially concerning the access to those resources by affluent (read: white) and non-affluent (read: black) students.

I hope you enjoy your visit! Personally, I think I'd lean toward moving away from Berkeley even though I had a great time, but I'd still love to get a call !

a lot of what were said is true, a suggestion from me: you should also look into the University Village Housing. It is north of berkeley on San Pablo ave. The rent is reasonable, and the apartment complex is decent. It is closed to a elementary/middle school and also has daycare if you have kids. Also, I assume you (still) get to ride buses for free with your student ID card, and that is another factor when you consider housing.

Last edited by tea_drinker on Thu Dec 02, 2010 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.